Now accepting applications for 2014 grants

TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - From "living" walls and citizen pruner programs, to arboretums and new watering techniques, communities across Canada are developing innovative ways to manage and grow their urban forests.  But they don't have to do it alone. TD Green Streets grants provide a valuable source of funding to help bring these creative projects to life.

Communities nationwide are encouraged to apply to receive matching grants of up to $15,000. With $300,000 in grants available, Tree Canada and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) are looking to support another round of innovative projects in 2014.

"We are excited to launch another year of TD Green Street funding," says Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada.  "We look forward to working with like-minded communities that understand the benefits of trees and continue to grow better places to live."

As Tree Canada's flagship program, TD Green Streets supports and encourages innovation in urban forestry. Since its inception in 1994, Green Streets has awarded funding to more than 500 recipients, and has helped change the landscape of local communities across Canada. The program is open to all Canadian municipalities and Aboriginal communities, as well as business improvement associations (BIA).

"Each year TD Green Streets funds innovative projects that impact, and contribute to the greening of, cities and towns across Canada," says Mary Desjardins, Executive Director, TD FEF. "We are thrilled to support these projects - and hope that more communities will be inspired to explore and develop creative methods to manage their tree canopies."

The deadline to submit an application for a 2014 TD Green Streets grant is January 10, 2014. Recipients will be announced in March 2014. Grant recipients are selected by a panel of representatives from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF), Tree Canada, and regional urban forest practitioners. TD Friends of the Environment Foundation has been the title sponsor of TD Green Streets since 2010.

Past TD Green Streets grant recipients include:

Mississauga, ON
As a way of combating both noise pollution and reducing the City's carbon foot print, the City of Mississauga erected a Living Wall - an ecological sound barrier that offers an environmentally friendly alternative to standard sound barriers. Constructed of earth and trees, the Living Wall integrates ecological principals with engineering practices, which compliments the environment. This environmental solution meets sound absorption requirements while promoting environmental issues. Over 100 community residents, including students from a local school were engaged in the project.

Charlottetown, PE
To provide a new source of water for the City of Charlottetown, the municipal government developed 206 acres of land as a well field. To protect the wellhead site, and to buffer it from adjacent activities on private agricultural land, the City developed a comprehensive plan to reforest the majority of the property. Since the program launch, over 8,800 softwood and hardwood trees have been planted. As a true community project, the City worked with several local organizations on educational outreach to increase public awareness about water sources, quality and conservation; to educate the community about native trees and shrubs and their benefits, as well as watersheds and riparian zones.

Thunder Bay, ON
The City of Thunder Bay, in conjunction with volunteer group Trees Thunder Bay, launched Canada's first Citizen Pruner Program.  The program offers free tree pruning training to citizens - delivered by a local certified arborist - in exchange for a minimum commitment of three, 2-hour work sessions. This rigorous training gives volunteers the knowledge and skills they need to understand tree growth and development.  Citizen Pruners then help prune young City boulevard trees to correct defects and direct stronger growth. This, in turn, helps improve tree quality and longevity, and addresses problems that could potentially lead to either costly pruning and repairs, or early tree failure and death. This investment in the future quality of Thunder Bay's public trees will result in huge cost savings to the City - and, in turn, taxpayers.

For more information on TD Green Streets, for more information on past projects and to learn how to apply for a 2014 TD Green Streets grant, visit www.tdgreenstreets.ca.

About Tree Canada
Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. A winner of the Canadian Environmental Award (2007), Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, more than 77 million trees have been planted, more than 450 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has organized nine national urban forest conferences. More information about Tree Canada is available at www.treecanada.ca.

About TD Friends of the Environment Foundation
From schoolyard naturalization and energy conservation, to tree plantings and environmental education, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) is proud to provide funding to help sustain an incredible array of grassroots environmental programs across the country.  In 2012, TD FEF provided more than $4.8 million in support of over 1,000 projects. Thousands of donors give to TD FEF on a monthly basis, and TD Bank Group contributes in excess of $1 million annually. TD also covers the management costs of running TD FEF, which guarantees 100 per cent of every dollar donated funds environmental projects in the community in which the donation was made. For more information on how to donate and get involved in your community, visit www.tdfef.com

SOURCE TD Bank Group